Topic
Bdellium
2 passages cited, from 4 classic reference works.
These works date from 1884–1915 and are in the public domain. They reflect the Protestant scholarship of their time: their history, archaeology and dates can be out of date, and where they interpret, other traditions read the text differently. The verses are shown in the King James Version, the wording these works were written against.
The verses
The passages the works cite, those cited by more of them first.
- Genesis 2:12Easton · Smith · ISBE · Nave General scriptures concerning
And the gold of that land is good: there is bdellium and the onyx stone.
- Numbers 11:7Easton · Smith · ISBE · Nave General scriptures concerning
And the manna was as coriander seed, and the colour thereof as the colour of bdellium.
In the reference works
Easton's Bible Dictionary (1897) · 2 references
Occurs only in Gen. 2:12, where it designates a product of the land of Havilah; and in Num. 11:7, where the manna is likened to it in colour. It was probably an aromatic gum like balsam which exuded from a particular tree (Borassus flabelliformis) still found in Arabia, Media, and India. It bears a resemblance in colour to myrrh. Others think the word denotes “pearls,” or some precious stone.
Smith's Bible Dictionary (1884) · 2 references
International Standard Bible Encyclopedia (1915) · 2 references
del'-i-um (bedholach): The word occurs twice in the Pentateuch:
(1) in Ge 2:12, in conjunction with gold and onyx, as a product of the land of HAVILAH (which see), and
(2) in Nu 11:7, where the manna is likened to this substance in appearance: "The appearance thereof as the appearance of bdellium." The latter comparison excludes the idea of bedholach being a precious stone, and points to the identification of it with the fragrant resinous gum known to the Greeks as bdellion, several kinds being mentioned by Dioscorides and Pliny. It was a product of Arabia, India, Afghanistan, etc.
James Orr
In the topical indexes
Texts: Easton's Bible Dictionary (1897); Smith's Bible Dictionary (1884); International Standard Bible Encyclopedia (1915); Nave's Topical Bible (1896), from the CrossWire SWORD modules (public domain). Verse references were parsed from the works' own markup and checked against the KJV verse list.